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October 30, 2017

This past week, I spent several days visiting Asheville, North Carolina. It's a great city for walking and I stayed in an apartment which wasn't too far from the downtown. I found myself taking long walks on most days, either in the city or nearby. On my first full day, the rains came. Merrimon Avenue filled with water on either side and I decided to wait out the storm in a fine music store called the Musician's Workshop. I tried out an Ibanez hollow body electric guitar and messed around with a crazy pedal called Superego + that had multiple effects and even allowed overlays of one effect on another. It was fun, but really getting the most out of this kind of effects pedal would take more time than I currently have. Maybe someday.

When I looked up, the rain had stopped and I decided to take a walk at the Botanical Center right next to UNC Asheville just down the road. Normally, a quiet stream curls through the center, but not on this day. Here's a glimpse of the churning brown waters of the stream that afternoon.

The next day, I walked into downtown late in the morning. Most of the trees in town were still green, but here's an exception I saw along the way walking on Broadway.

My favorite stop in downtown is the Malaprop's bookstore. This week I had a gift card at the store, so I had the luxury of browsing through titles in various sections of the store. I did my research on one day, then bought the books on another day. I like science fiction books, so I looked at those possibilities, but I also checked out books of regional interest and the general fiction area as well. The store is replete with other sections such as Banned Books and Staff Picks, so those books are also worth checking out. On prior visits, I had seen books such as 1984 and the Just Kids memoir from Patti Smith that I later read.

But since it was lunchtime, I walked downhill toward the Green Sage on Broadway. This restaurant has great coffee and tea selections, and also has innovative fare for lunch or breakfast. On this day, the temperatures had dropped a bit, so I wanted a lunch with both hot and filling foods. After asking a few questions when I got to the head of the queue, I made my selections and they were brought to my table a few minutes later. My sandwich was called a Rainbow Wrap and its mix of veggies included beets, carrots, lettuce and alfalfa sprouts, augmented by olives and small hunks of feta. Very tasty. My soup was intriguing and warm -- lentils served in a curry-based soup. The piece de resistance was a spicy chai cider which brought the rest of the meal together and whose hot spicy taste felt like a pure burst of autumn. Green Sage is a magnet for a diverse group of people -- single, couples or in groups -- and ages ranging from students to retirees. Across the street, a new building is being erected, which will house a mix of condos and hotel rooms; the city continues to evolve from the one I first encountered about 8 years ago, with a big push toward providing more rooms in and around the downtown.

Later on the trip, I took a ride up into the hills of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Asheville has beautiful views even from the downtown, but it's magnified up on the parkway. Here's a couple glimpses of what I saw:

Back in Asheville, one can encounter some surprising sights. Here's the side of the original Moog studio off of Broadway:

Whether it's music, books, food, wine. beer or the outdoors, it seems there's always another adventure lurking around the corner in Asheville.

October 07, 2016

I came back to Asheville, North Carolina for a one week visit after several years away. In the time since my last visit in 2012, the city has continued to evolve. My son is active in the River Arts District, which is adjacent to the French Broad River a little bit south of downtown and there's been numerous changes down there. The working studios have spread out and are now being joined by other neighbors such as massive breweries. Touchstones from prior years such as a mural at Cotton Mill Studios are now gone, but other sights have replaced them. Here's some new outdoor art that is decorating walls and a water tower near the western edge of the district.

As I write this, my streaming Pandora station is playing a jazzy rendition of the song You Can't Go Home Again, which is the title of the last novel by Asheville's most famous writer, Thomas Wolfe. Serendipity, a wonderful notion, sometimes realized.

Another major change is the emergence of Asheville as a leader in the brewing of craft beers. The other night, we checked out the Burial Brewing Company on the South Slope of downtown. This area, a former bastion of warehouses and empty buildings, is now rapidly expanding to include a variety of different options for one''s beer drinking pleasure. On that evening, I tried a Kolsch and a Pilsner from local brewers, and these were some of the less exotic choices; the ever changing menu included information about size options -- 8 oz is a good tasting size, particularly if you want to try multiples -- as well as alcohol content.

Happily, Asheville is still a go-to spot for finding wonderful bookstores, a wide variety of cuisines and much more. I'll write more about that in my next post.

November 30, 2011

Last week I was in Asheville, North Carolina. One of the great things about this city is that you're never very far away from the fabulous Blue Ridge Parkway. In this region of two large rivers, the French Broad and the Swannanoa, the parkway forms another ribbon that connects different parts of the city. Last Tuesday, the rains broke into scattered clouds and we had some time on our hands, so we took a ride. We began just off of Rt 191. The road quickly elevated upwards and we could feel our ears popping as we roamed from 2000 feet on up to higher points. Very soon, we were far above the valleys below and could look across to other mountains across from us.

We continued our drive, which included a series of short twisty tunnels. The leaves had all been shed from the trees, but this late fall season offered a wide variety of shadows and chiaroscuro images. We'd been at a remarkable church called Jubilee on Sunday and had purchased a CD which featured music from their jazzy house band and a variety of guests. The parkway brings you into close contact with nature, so the ethereal music from the CD offered a tasty aural backdrop to the scenes which spun out before us. Just imagine what it's like as the air grows thin and your car is climbing the switchbacks, going up and up and up.

We approached Mount Pisgah, and as we did, the clouds which we'd seen above from lower points were now at the same level we'd climbed to. It's a weird feeling to walk inside a cloud. My youngest son took his new Ipod Touch out and began to take videos of the pluming fog. So, that was the peak of our journey.

Later in the day, we picked up a friend from the airport and couldn't resist heading back up into the mountains, but once again we encountered fog right near Mt. Pisgah. We re-traced our steps and soon arrived back where we'd started. Before leaving the area, we made one more stop along the French Broad River. The area here was very quiet and you'd have to work hard not to relax while watching the river flow by.

That's a glimpse of the life outdoors near Asheville. The city offers a myriad of culture, cuisine and the arts, but the wonders of nature are never far away and stand ready to spark your imagination.

December 01, 2010

I spent last week with my family in the area in and around Asheville, North Carolina. We had a great time. Part of what I noticed was the friendly attitude of a lot of the people that we met. We also found lots to do.

Highlights for the week included riding the Blue Ridge Parkway in the area around Asheville, visiting the famed Biltmore Estate and just hanging out in the downtown area.

I previously blogged about the Blue Ridge Parkway here. I have no new pictures to add -- my camera battery ran out of charge -- but we did drive an additional 30 miles or so though the southern part of Asheville. Over by Craggy Gardens, where there are great views on both sides of the road, the shadows of the fall season gave the area south of us a totally different look than I remembered seeing in the spring. As you come down off the 5000 foot elevations to around 3000, the views of Asheville residential areas running up to the sides of the mountains are spectacular. Most of the leaves were down, but there were still some very pretty rust, pale yellow and auburn colored leaves. We then continued on, passing several side roads before getting off of the blue roads about 10 miles north of Asheville airport.

The Biltmore Estate was all decked out for Christmas. We did the tour of the main building, which included view of some seventy plus Christmas trees, but the building itself is still the real star on this interior tour. Here's a photo of the Biltmore when rendered as a gingerbread house.

After the tour of the house, we booked our place at the Stable Cafe. The stable from the estate has been re-purposed as casual eating establishment and the stalls have been converted to booths. Just as I remembered, the food was wonderful. I had a lamb burger with lots of tasty trimmings and my family members also enjoyed hearty choices such as a meatloaf sandwich and the hefty Heritage Burger. This became our main meal of the day. Afterwards, we walked on the grounds, taking a very colorful route through pathways that eventually brought us to the glassed-in conservatory.

Here's a view that caught my eye.

On the weekend, we'd gone to a local church in Asheville called Jubilee, where the minister preached about winter gardens, a fine metaphor for the work of the winter season, where root vegetables burrow deeper and trees extend their roots, awaiting the brighter seasons. Here at the Biltmore, we saw how the gardens of spring turn into a toned down version for the fall, in preparation for the fallow months ahead.

Here's a glimpse of unusual hothouse flowers seen inside the conservatory.

The grounds of the Biltmore were designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the amazing landscape architect who also played a large role in the development of New York's Central Park and Boston's Emerald Necklace. Here's a view of what the main house looks like when seen during a walk in the gardens.

Later, we got in the car and drove along the long, twisting road that heads toward the exits. On the way, we stopped off at the Biltmore Winery. We'd noticed that the estate didn't miss a trick when it came to commercial opportunities, but the winery was almost purely commercial. Our tickets did give my wife and I access to a wine tasting. We queued up -- sometimes this felt like Disneyworld for adults -- then a group of us were led to a long oak bar for a tasting. The selection was ample, with a broad choice among whites, reds and roses. We tasted their Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. All of the wines were of reasonably good quality; the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were my favorites for this round of tastings.

Throughout the visit, downtown Asheville served as both a destination and resource. We ate several meals in town, including lunches and dinners, and took advantage of the eclectic cuisines available. Two favorites were:

Mela, which had a fine selection of Indian food, including some spectacular custom flavored Naans (the delightful flat Indian bread) and variations on favorites like lamb curry that sated my appetite. All of this was complemented by a fine pale ale from the local Pisgah microbrewery.

Mellow Mushroom, which has a nostalgic late sixties vibe and makes terrific pizzas with a wide selection of possible ingredients. Here we continued our symbolic tour of the local microbreweries and enjoyed more of the local products, guided by a friendly waitress.

Asheville is also a great place to connect to the cyber world. My youngest son and I each carried our Ipods with us and usually were able to connect to the 'Net using one of the ubiquitous wifi connections to be found in restaurants, bookstores and just about anywhere else in the downtown. Want to check the upcoming weather, check the New York Times for the day or otherwise link up? No problem.

I'm now back in the Boston area and the dreary late fall weather, but I'm still buoyed by our one week sojourn to one of the most interesting destinations in the southern US, Asheville, North Carolina. I'm already looking forward to the next visit.

July 17, 2010

In the past year, our family has gotten exposed to a different part of the country. My oldest son chose to attend school in the western part of North Carolia and it's given us a chance to see that area and get exposed to the local culture in and around Asheville. Last June, my son and I attended an outdoor rock concert set up under Interstate highway 540, a program known as Downtown After Five. The scene attracted a broad range of people, ranging in age from babies to octogenarians, but everybody seemed to be having a great time. I blogged about that experience in my post Downtown After Dark.

The highlight of that concert was the amazing musicianship of Randall Bramblett. At that show, Bramblett played very soulful tenor and soprano sax backing up blues guitarist Geoff Achison. I decided I needed to hear more of Bramblett's music. I looked him up on Google and discovered that he's a highly respected singer-songwriter, though he is not well known outside of the American South. I took a quick listen on Itunes to his latest album -- Now It's Tomorrow -- and decided to buy it. It's been a favorite album on my Ipod ever since. For some reason, the Itunes Genius feature picked out one particular song, Blue Road, and plays it more often than the others. Blue Road is the story of the narrator's up and down experiences with a woman named Ginnie Lee. Bramblett keeps saying he can't forget about her and wants to take her on the Blue Road.

I'm not exactly sure, but I have a hunch the Blue Road just might be referring to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a two lane road that winds through the mountains for hundreds of miles. On my last trip out of Asheville, my son and I followed a winding dirt road and eventually made it up the parkway. We'd planned ahead, so we brought along a picnic lunch and sat ourselves down at one of the first overlooks. The scene looked like this as we look over the shoulder of my son Jason:

We'd finally made it to the Blue Ridge Parkway and this first view just offered a taste of what lay ahead.

The Blue Ridge truly is a mountain road and follows a series of switchbacks which bring your car to higher and higher elevations. A little further up the road, the views were even more spectacular, as we could look down to see the clear green waters of a river threading it's way through the valley against a backdrop of the Blue Ridge mountains.

Writing in my journal at the time, I had the following impressions. A glassy lake cuts through between ridges -- edged by sandy shorelines, like a mustard outline of the flat waters. Above, curling humps and brazen points catch my eye. The more distant hills fade into overlays of blue. The scent of burning firewood wafts across to us from the visitor's center, while a flag flutters and bucks in the early May winds.

Here's a shot of Jason drawing the scene in his sketch book:

And that was just the beginning of what we saw that day. Just ahead, a mountain ridge and tunnel pointed the way forward.

Call it the Blue Road or the Blue Ridge Parkway, but this road offers views which quickly outstrip the adjectives one might apply to capture it. If you're in western North Carolina, you'll want to go out of your way and see for yourself the many views available from this roadway as it follows a twisting path through the mountains. Bring along a picnic lunch and take your time.

For me, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Randall Bramblett are examples of the fine differences available when we choose to explore new territories. In these places, we'll often find new geographic and cultural touch stones.

Have you been to the Blue Ridge Mountains? What were your reactions?

Have you experienced regional artists that have exposed you to different worldview?

It's summer and it's a fine time to stretch out, to find those new places and open yourself to novel influences.

May 10, 2010

Over the weekend, my son and I walked about the center of Asheville, enjoying a sunny Southern day and stopping in at various shops, galleries and cafes.

For example, we stopped at one gallery displaying the work of two artists my son had met and had a chance to chat with the artists and talk about their work. Later on in the day we stopped in again and stocked up on a couple of items to bring back to Massachusetts as gift items. One of the artists, Melissa Terrezza, explained the subversive notions behind plaster fortune cookies she had on display and revealed that she'd also played a part in work being displayed at another gallery. So we walked a couple of blocks and checked out a provocative show at Satellite Gallery by Joel Vanfuller. While my son talked shop with the gallery owner, I reviewed the photos on display. In each case, female models wore large African masks and not much of anything else, and a caption explained the meaning of the masks. Metaphors ran thick as the message of the masks collided with their setting in an American gallery, creating a cross cultural collage.

Next, we dropped in at the Green Sage, a premier coffee place with strong green thematica overtones -- not to mention wonderful food -- and I used my iPod to connect to the net.

We moved on to Wall Street, where we scanned several menus before ending up at the Laughing Seed, a vegetarian restaurant with remarkable menu choices. I ordered a Mango Lassi -- essentially an Indian version of a smoothie, though in this case including herbal overtones -- and their rendition of a falafel. While waiting for our meal, I found another Internet link and tweeted about this latest stop. Soon after, the food arrived and more than fulfilled my expectations, offering the taste of a falafel accompanied by a melange of fresh greens, peppers and other vegetables -- exquisite. As we headed out, my son bumped into a couple of other friends and we all exchanged jibes about the day and summer plans -- sometimes it feels like everybody in Asheville has some kind of artistic gig. Walking in Asheville -- it always seems to give back more energy to me than I expend.

Time to move on. I write this as my son and I take a road trip through ten states, making our way back to Massachusetts. It's a long way, but we've seen a lot. Onward.

July 01, 2009

What if a gentlemen with unlimited resources joined forces with a world famous architect and the genius who designed Central Park and built an estate over hundreds of acres in the mountains. George Vanderbilt did exactly that when he initiated The Biltmore over one hundred years ago in the hills of western North Carolina on the edges of the city Asheville.

I've seen the Vanderbilt summer cottage in Newport, known as The Breakers, but the Biltmore estate was much more ambitious. Like The Breakers, the huge mansion is heavily influenced by then current trends in Italian and French architecture, but the piece de resistance is the remarkable estate surrounding this home and the scale on which the estate was envisioned.

I drove into the Biltmore and went at least 2 miles before we even got close to the main Biltmore House. When designing the landscape, Frederick Olmstead deliberately built the long winding roads that pass by lush forests and local rivers, so that guests would realize they were passing into a different kind of experience. Suffice to say, it works. On this day, crews were out with chainsaws repairing the damages from a storm the prior evening, but the many trees and plants along the edges of the roads still enchanted, bringing a calming effect as the drive continued.

Today, the estate has been preserved by the Vanderbilt family, so it is a hugely popular tourist spot that needs the satellite parking lots about a quarter of mile away from the main house. I joined my fellow tourists on the shuttle bus and we were dropped off by the front door. But on this way in, here is the view of the main Biltmore House:

I took the walking tour on my visit. Inside, each of the major rooms is distinct. Sitting rooms often have art from world renowned artists of the day including Whistler, John Stewart Sargent and Renoir.

Looking out, you can see the views which Olmstead sought, where the house stands above the fields below, but also looks on to the Smoky mountains in the distance.

This is the kind of place where even the nooks and crannies are special. The exterior of the main house brought to mind another famous French building -- Notre Dame in Paris. Like Notre Dame, the exterior of the house had a variety of carefully sculpted gargoyles who did double duty in serving as water spouts to drain water away from the house in the event of rain. No sign of such rain this day; the temperatures pushed 90 degrees even in the morning.

The interior rooms for the family members were huge. Each room had a different style, though variations of double posted beds were common. Here again, I saw the influence of Versailles in the attention to detail, be it in special wallpapers, imported furniture and, in one case, a fireplace taken from Europe and reconstructed here.

Tying the house together is the Grand Staircase which winds upward in a style much like the one featured in Gone With the Wind. Here is a glimpse of the staircase looking down from the top floor.

As distinctive as the interior of the house is, the exterior grounds designed by Olmstead offer an even more colorful and varied set of views.

On the left of the main house, the collection of carefully tended gardens begin. Looking forward from the Libary Terrace is the Italian Garden. Here, a combination of leafy green plants, ivory statues and stone bordered pools create an oasis of beauty which contrasts with the wilder appearance of the forests soaring skyward behind it.

Next, I began the walk downhill toward the conservatory and was immediately distracted by magnificent hanging gardens. On a cooler day, I can imagine sitting under the vineyard style trestles and reading for hours.

On this day, the scorching heat made me think it was time to find water and lunch, not necessarily in that order. But first, a quick walk down to the walled gardens seemed essential. Which looked like this:

And putting the garden against its backdrop, revealed this pastiche:

The walk through these gardens provided a feast for my eyes, but the heat from the sun was unrelenting, so I bid adieu to the gardens and returned to the main house of the estate. I circled back to the other side of the house and checked in at the front desk of the stable cafe. The place was very busy, but I was able to get a seat almost immediately. A waiter quickly came by and brought me a large lemonade and ice water, which I began to drink to get rehydrated. Looking around, I noticed that the tables were set in the former horse stalls and built of polished hardwood and wrought iron. Like everything else I experienced at the Biltmore, the drinks were excellent and gave me a chance to scope out the menu. The variety of choices left me with a tough decision, but I opted for Lamb Sliders based on the description provided by my attentive waiter. Shortly afer this, he came by with hot cornbread. Perfect to whet my appetite.

I wrote up a few postcards and then tended to the food when it arrived. The sliders were excellent, silver dollar sized slices of lamb on a small toasted bun with a horseradish sauce. I added a taste of catsup and the blended taste was outrageous.

So ended my trip to the Biltmore. I had an appointment after this, so with great reluctance, I returned to my car and followed the 4 mile loop through more forest and past the Biltmore winery, finally exiting the estate. I got my money's worth on a discounted ticket and definitely want to go back again with my wife and family to share this amazing treasure built into the hills on the outskirts of Asheville.

June 21, 2009

I'm fresh back from a trip to Asheville, North Carolina. We found it to be a remarkable cultural center that is conducive to producing art at the highest level.

Friday night was all about music. Three groups played on an impromptu stage set up under the I-240 overpass on Lexington Avenue -- all powered by a massive solar panel. The series is called Downtown After Five.

My son and I arrived around six thirty and the events were already in full swing, led by a group called Brushfire Stankgrass, which included electric banjo and guitar in their instruments. The first impression was of a bluegrass group, but they quickly went beyond direction into an electric fusion more reminiscent of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. The mix in the audience also surprised me -- ranging in age from the young people you'd expect to see at an outdoor concert to many people in my own fiftyish baby boomer age group ... and beyond.

Here is a shot of Brushfire Stankgrass in action.

The banjo player and lead guitarist were both fine musicians and drove the band and the audience to very high energy levels. They built songs step by step, increasing intensity until the solos reached a crescendo with a flurry of notes, before returning to the basics of melody and swinging rhythm.

They ended around eight and we started thinking about dinner, but one group remained. Twenty minutes later, an Australian guitarist, Geoff Achison took the stage and played two acoustic blues numbers. Geoff can belt out a blues effectively, with a vocal approach reminiscent of Eric Clapton, but his guitar playing offered more flash than substance on these first two songs. He then strapped on his electric guitar and his drummer and bassist joined to complete a power trio. The trio sound kicked up the energy level, but Achison still played erratically and his body weaved around the stage as if he were hoping to get inspired by the movement.

Another element was needed and arrived a few minutes later in the person of musical virtuouso Randall Bramblett. Bramblett normally leads his own band, but tonight he played the role of sideman on soprano and tenor sax. Achison said, "We're just jammin", but Bramblett's sax fills and solos gave the music much needed depth. Song after song, Randall continued to elevate the music and really got the crowd dancing in the streets. His energy pulled up the rest of the band and Achison had fine moments himself when he and Bramblett traded licks on material crossing the gamut from funky blues to shuffles to boogie and even reggae. The quartet put on a great show and kept us boogying in the streets until darkness fell.

Here is a shot of the band with Achison on guitars and vocal, and Bramblett on soprano sax.

I wouldn't mind seeing Achison again; I sensed he's better than he showed this night and we got glimpse of that during his crossfire exchanges with Bramblett. As for Bramblett, I'd love to see him again and see what his band is doing these days. He played with soul and clarity. This guy is a major musical talent. He's touring across the South this summer.

We had two other encounters with brilliant artists the next day in Asheville. I'll write about that in another post.

June 18, 2009

My son and I have returned to Asheville, North Carolina as he prepares for enrollment at a local school in the fall. We walked the city center in the late afternoon and delighted in its many contrasts. Asheville is packed with galleries and work of local artists, so the local art association was our first stop. The woman supervising the gallery gave us a quick rundown of the local art scene, which is not only downtown but in an arts district by the river. The artist whose work was on display, Gerald Jonas, had a panopoly of canvas on display which explore the world in brilliant colors and with elements of texture. And a great sign: "It's okay to touch."

Down the road, we walked past an open air farmer's market, featuring station wagon's and truckloads of local produce, and then onto a food coop, which featured a cornupcopia of fresh foods and much more.

The streets here remind me of San Francisco; lots of undulating blocks where you turn a corner and the next amazing art deco building shows it face. The town's building look mostly unchanged from years

past, as evidenced by ads painted on brick on many sidewalls, advertising products from -- I'd guess -- the post-WWII era. There are newer buildings, but the percentage of older ones is much higher than in a city like Boston.

We worked up an appetite, then returned to a French restaurant called Bouchon, which promised French comfort food. Exactement. I recommended my son try the Steak au Poivre and I had a scintillating boulliabaise, with a glass of Alsatian Hugel on the side. It reminded me of restaurants I'd been to in Paris and my son drew the comparison with our trip to Quebec City last year.

Our outdoor dinner was mildly interrupted by a flash. People at the table next to us quickly asked if anyone had been using a flash camera. Nope. Bowling ball thunder rattled the tables a moment later. We reconnoitered indoors and continued our dinner there.

Afterwards, we walked a few blocks back to our hotel. The black night and wet streets offered striking views en route, made more so when lightning flashed overhead. My son and I both agreed that the word for this city, especially at night, is dramatic.

This evening, I took another walk in the city and the weather was more cooperative. Smoke rose up from the base of the mountains overlooking downtown. To our west, the sky tinted red at sunset, signaling what I hope will be a sunny day tomorrow.

March 04, 2009

This post is about writing, but it could apply to any work, especially when it involves creativity.

I just finished editing my first novel, Growing Up Single, and there were plenty of times when I got stalled. Here are some thoughts about how to get through that block.

We've all been there You are working on a story and it has come to a dead end. The characters seem to have lost the spring in their step. The dialogue is wilting. It's time for a change of venue.

Perhaps your characters will come alive again if you put them in a different place, maybe even a different country. What happens when the steady mother of two ends up in Vegas? Does love feel the same in Paris, Texas as it does in that better known Paris in France?

Or maybe you need the change of place, scene and time. Think how inspired you'd be if you pitched a beach umbrella along Waikiki and were able to look up at Diamond Head.

Picture palm trees in the twilight!

So, think about it. What do you do to break the ice and free up your creative juices? Do you try for a change in your life or a new writing space? Is it time to head off down to Baja for that writing vacation? Are your characters yearning for a latitude change?